Oy!

This week was my spring break, and I've really done nothing, but work on lesson plans, papers, resume, etc... I'm getting very stressed out because Tuesday is career day at Missouri State, and I will be able to interview with lots of school districts. I'm afraid I'll sit down to interview and completely blank... 5 years of college, huh?

I'm completely excited about the wedding, everything is coming together so nicely! I have the best family in the world. My parents are helping me out tremendously! I couldn't be more happy. I'm doing dress fittings Tuesday with the girls, and we're sending out invitations this week! Colby's birthday is on Wednesday, and my teacher's last day is Wednesday too. I'll be taking over the kindergarten class all by my lonesome starting Thursday! Wish me luck!

This was a very random post.... I realize.

Now I'm Crying My Heart Out Over You...

My intention tonight was to tell this funny story about one of my students, but sometimes life gets in the way and I'm not in the story telling mood any longer. Instead I'll tell you about my day. It started off fine, I went to school, did the routine and everything was fine. I decided that I would go and visit my mom and dad after school, because I'm leaving to see my sister in Tennessee this weekend for spring break. We sat outside by the fish pond, and drank sweet tea and I told them my funny story about my students, we had dinner, and I helped my dad with computer issues.

last As I was getting ready to leave my dad handed me two CDs and told me that he thought I might like them. My mom had picked me flowers from the front yard before I left and I had them sitting with me as I drove. Immediately popped the cd into the player in my car. The very first thing I hear is my Uncle Daddy's voice- I lost it. I miss so much hearing his voice, and seeing his face. The whole time I was thinking about growing up with the music, Saturdays were not complete around our house without the usual jam session. I replayed those memories in my head while I was driving listening to his voice, I would not be the way I am today without the music. I surround myself with things that remind me of those times, when I'd mingle around with my friends who were always invited. I never once stopped to think that this could be thetime I heard it. Sometimes it sucks to get older, everything eventually becomes the past and that is at times- so hard to swallow.

Weddings are Exhausting.

This will have to suffice for now. I have a funny story to post tomorrow! I'm too tired now to sit and write it all out. I had to entertain myself while I was shopping for wedding stuff today, I just happened to have a camera.

I am Weary....Let me rest

So I'm still not doing fantastic with the picture thing, but who's counting? I have been battling a horrible hip problem for the last month or so and it's pretty much becoming unbearable. I went to the chiropractor thinking that would be a quick fix, but nothing has worked. Muscle relaxers... Not working. It seems that I have a problem with my SI joint. Here's the deal, every time I am sitting I want to cry. I feel like there is a pair of scissors stabbing my lower back/hip area. If I'm sitting and I stretch out my leg, my toes go numb. Standing and stooping with tiny people all day isn't helping the matter. It's time to go to the bone doctor.... Wish me luck.

Kiss Me I'm Irish!

Ok ok so I skipped a couple of days.... Maybe this portrait thing will be every other day or when I have time. Anyways, here's my newest picture. Happy St. Patricks Day!!! I forgot to take my camera to the bar with me, but that's alright because I probably wouldn't have known how to work it. It was a good night...

Picture 2

Just another day.

#1 as promised...

Alright here is the first of many daily portraits. This was after a long day with the kiddos. It's 7:00 right now and I've already had dinner, taken my shower, and am in my pajamas. Ahh the life I lead.

The Couch Can Make You Smarter...

So today I was sick. I have been battling something this whole weekend, and today decided I couldn't hang out with the kindergartners. Instead I made a nice indention in the couch for more than half the day. It's surprising the things you can learn while on the couch by yourself!

I learned...

1. the sexiest two things about a women in the eyes of a man is her touch and her breasts... Thank you Greg Behrendt.
   
2. that milk probably isn't the best think to drink when you can't breathe.
   
3. the neighbor next door loves to listen to Metallica early in the morning while running up and down the stairs.
   
4. someones missing some quarters. Finders keepers!
5. watching Tyra makes your I.Q. drop a few points.
6. that you'll never fall asleep and forget the pizza in the oven again. The smell stays with you forever.
7. that if you like licorice travel to China, they have a tree that produces a seed that tastes the same. Don't thank me, thank Martha Stewart for that one. I can't take credit.
   

Project 365

OK, I've decided that I'm going to do a little project. Mainly just for fun I'm going to take one photo a day- a portrait- if you will... I'm going to apply one a day to my blog just for the shits and grins. I will start this project tomorrow to let my camera charge and then we'll see how long I can keep this going. Could be fun. Today I'll just post a picture that I have on my computer.



This picture is shortly after Colby proposed. Everybody now: Awwwww!

Da Dumm Da Dummm

This weekend we went to Butler to have our engagement party. I had a blast! We all had so much fun! Colby's mom, Mary Beth, had a Hawaiian themed party and everyone dressed up and had a great time. I am finally getting the finishing touches on the wedding details.

Things done:

1. The wedding will be held at Garden of Dreams.
2. I have a lady helping us with the catering.
3. I picked out the tuxes on Saturday, they're Ralph Lauren....and they're hot!
4. The DJ is scheduled and ready.
5. Invitations were set to print today and will be finished by the 21st of this month.
6. I picked out the flowers for the bouquets today!
7. Cake is ordered.

Now I need to get the girls together to pick out bridesmaids patterns/ or dresses...and we're ready for this wedding!

An Update for my Biggest Fan

So this weekend is almost gone, and I'm finishing up the last loads of laundry as I get ready to tuck myself into bed. The weekends pass by so quickly! Colby and I went downtown today and he took photographs of me- if they turn out well I'll post some of them. It was just for fun, we walked all over downtown and it was FREEZING! They were all shot with black and white film, so hopefully my cold red nose won't show up.

I've decided that for spring break this year I'll be headed to Clarksville, TN to visit Miss Moo, my sister, and my brother-in-law. Stori and I are going to go to Nashville shopping for the wedding. Stori is just going to buy her dress rather than have one made so we'll be doing lots of shopping. I'm excited about having a break, the kids are fantastic, but I am SO tired! It's 10 now so I'm going to get the pajamas on and go to bed.... I feel so old. ;)

Introducing: Miss Maggly Gigglebutt

This is Maggly Gigglebutt. Every day she becomes more and more like her mother: drooling, making funny noises, cries when she hears the vacuum. Every day she looks more and more like her Auntie- Beautiful, so sweet, has the 'family thighs'.

I love my family!

An Endless Sea of Questions

Once again, I'm sick. I feel terrible, like I have two big bowling balls in my chest! Now this would be fantastic if they were in the forms of boobs, but it's not even like that. I have a chest cold and in return it has cost me my voice. Tomorrow I have to teach the kindergartners all by my lonesome, and they're definitely going to take advantage of this fine opportunity.

Sometimes I feel so claustrophobic in the middle of all of them, they swarm you and overwhelm you with a million questions that have absolutely nothing to do with the task at hand. "Whens snack? Do you like diamonds? I got new bunk beds this weekend. Want to come and see? Psst here's my phone number".... And I replied, "Am I supposed to call you?" She said, "Yeah, you know to talk and stuff."

I'm tired.

That's My Name, Don't Wear It Out!

Two days ago I had recess duty and I was standing out in the blistering cold looking around at all the kindergarten kids, when one small boy walked up to me, and this conversation ensued:

Kid: Who are you?
Me: Miss *****.
Kid: Oh, I think you're pretty...
Me: Huh?
Kid: I said I think you're pretty! I mean, well, actually I think you're HOT!
Me: What?!
Kid: Every time I see you I'm going to call you Miss Hottie! Miss Hot that's your name.
Me: Go play.

Not one minute later he comes back with his kindergarten gang.

Kid: (pointing at me) See that's the one, the one I call hot. I think you're hot, Miss Hottie!
Me: You're SIX- GO PLAY. My name is Miss ****!

This kid was a kindergartner! What is this world coming to?

Who Needs America's Next Top Model?

Where else could you feel this fantastic? I absolutely love my kindergarten classroom. I walk in to pick up the kids around 8:30 from the gym and all I hear is, "Miss *****! You look so pretty today! Yes, you look beautiful. I love you." I feel like a supermodel every time I come into school. They all want to hold your hand, carry your things, do anything in the world to please you.

The teacher I'm working with right now has breast cancer, and she is a HUGE inspiration to me. She has two young daughters, and is a fantastic teacher! She is all about the students, even though she should be staying home so she doesn't catch anything. Soon she'll be done with chemotherapy and have to have surgery, if anyone is reading this please send your thoughts and prayers to her and her family.

Sleep Deprived

I am finally done with Wal-Mart...for the time being. I now can focus my time on the wedding and my kindergartners. Yes, I have kindergarten-again. I was supposed to be placed in a fifth grade classroom, but that didn't work out either. I LOVE the school I'm in now, the staff is fantastic, and everyone is so nice. Plus I am able to be around a lot of student teachers and see how everything is going for them as well.

On a different note: I took my sister back to Kentucky Friday. I am absolutely exhausted- I had a great time while I was there, but the drive completely wore me out. I miss my Miss Moo SO MUCH! I have some new pictures to post of her and I will very shortly. She's a love.

Yeah...

Student teaching. Student teaching. Student teaching....This week I started student teaching with a first grade class. Upon entering the building I knew it wasn't going to be very good. The first day not one single person spoke to me. At lunch I felt like the kid who got picked last for dodge ball, I sat there all alone looking around and no one introduced themselves or even smiled at me. The teacher I was helping informed me that she was a perfectionist, and I realized then this is my hell. Things went on and now I'm no longer in that room. I'll now be transferred to a fifth grade classroom. There is much more to this story, but its not worth going into right now because I'm getting ready to eat and I'm watching House.

It's the small things that make my blood boil.

The most annoying sound quite possibly could be the sound of a muffled crunching of a 300lb man stuffing popcorn into his mouth. It's a horrible sound!All you can hear is the crunch and a nasally whistle he creates because he cannot take his hand from his mouth long enough to breathe. I was graced with this sound tonight... Yes ladies and gentlemen, I was at the movie theater watching a fantastic movie, that was ruined by six teenage girls who need their mouths washed out with bleach and a brillo pad, and the man who had the never ending tub o' popcorn. I think i'll start watching movies on dvds.

Wedding Woes

Last night I stayed up because I couldn't sleep, I kept thinking about wedding details... I'm terrified that we'll end up putting the planning off so long we'll be getting married in someones apartment-probably mine.

There are SO many things to consider when planning a wedding. I've looked at so many places to possibly have the wedding: Parks, Hotels, Chapels, Churches, Fields... Then you have to think about well, Is it going to rain? Then you need tents-$800 tents. If its outside you need tables, chairs, linens...dance floors, air conditioning...

If it's inside-is there enough room? Do we have to drive forever from the wedding site to the reception site. How much will it cost to just get married? $900 for 3 hours...

This is so stressful... Every place has the goods....but most have the bad as well... Only time will tell.

Lindsay Call Me! I'm drowning in wedding plans, and I may not make my way out of this one!

Bald is Beautiful

Enough Said.

Shit Storm

Wow! We were really hit hard! Yesterday I called in to wal-mart so I could go and help my parents, who's power could possibly be out for two weeks. I brought the guys with me and we used the chainsaw to get rid of all the branches and trees blocking the house. It was really difficult to even get to my parents house. Every road had down power lines, so we took a major detour. IT was absolutely freezing at home, they eventually got a generator so the blower on the fireplace can warm the house a little. The toilet seat was FREEZING!

Right now on t.v we're watching a "special report" that interrupted Bob Barker! Apparently we're under a boil order, and there have been a ton of people breaking in to different shops and stealing things... People are terrible.

Walking in a Winter.....Death Trap.

Alright, from those of you who do not live in
or around Missouri, I'm sure you've heard of
our hellacious ice storm that hit us this weekend.
Colby and I went walking around and here are some
of the photos I've taken. The rest of the photos can
be accessed by clicking on the sidebar flickr pictures.

Updates

Towards the bottom of the page I've added photos, I've been meaning to post those for a long time, but didn't really get around to it. I'm just sprucing the blog. It's definitely not as fantastic as some, but I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to Html, and CSS.

This will have to do for now. Thanks for sticking around.

All Work and No Play...

I've decided to give Wal-Mart the finger. Well, not entirely...I'm going on leave of absence for student teaching. I'll start said leave of absence on February 2nd. I'm very excited because although I'll still be in working at student teaching, I'll not really be working.

I'm very excited, this semester is going to fly by with teaching, planning the wedding, engagement parties, wedding showers, the wedding, actually getting married, the honeymoon, and moving to actually start our lives.

So yeah, I'm giving wal-mart the finger...

Boom!

Lets take a journey into the past shall we? Close your eyes and imagine a very awkward 10 year old girl. This girl wore pants with the elastic band that went around the bottom of the foot, I believe they're called stirrup pants, her hair was short and she usually looked as though she went through a shit storm before school everyday. During her free time she would get together with her best pal, who also wore stirrup pants...Sorry Linz. They concocted great things together.

Shampoo that we assured was not tested on animals, rather my little sister, Stori. We made a volcano and blew it up in third grade, and experimented with a bottle warmer in fourth grade.

Lets jump back to the present. A few mornings ago I was so thirsty the first thing that came out of my mouth when Colby got out of bed was, "I need a drink. Juice, the cranberry-grape kind. Please." Like a wicked cool fiance he ran downstairs and came back with a glass of juice. I drank some and finally got out of bed, the juice held close to me like a squirrel holds his last nut. I took the juice to the computer room and proceeded getting ready for work. The next day I went about the same routine, but the nice glass of juice I had left on my desk was no longer nice. A large mushroom cap of mold had begun to grow.

Now, we all know that it takes at least a week before your juice begins to grow legs and walk, so I thought: If this happened in one day, what could happen in one week... The little girl in me laughed because she knew Linz would be proud.

One week to the day I decided it has started to get out of hand and added water to it with the intention to pour it down the bathroom sink. As soon as the water hit it started to smoke. My 'OH SHIT' sensor went off and my first instinct was to dump it down the toilet, close the lid, and flush. Immediately afterward I heard this huge explosion and remembered what the teachers had said about- Tuck and roll...or was that someone else? Anyhow I screamed for Colby and he came running up the stairs unaware that I had just about blew away the top floor of our townhouse.

I stood outside the door only peeking around the corner every now and again. Colby was very confused to the situation. I'm definitely going to try it again.

Goody Goody Gumdrops...and stuff.

Yes it is! As I was walking the mall humming, "War, huh yeah, what is it good for? Absolutely Nothing...yeahhhhhhh WAR...." I don't know why it was in my head, just go with it.

I noticed Starbucks and thought man wouldn't it be.....Then I saw it. A huge chalkboard that said It's BACK! The Cinnamon Dolce Latte! I made a U-turn right into Starbucks. I wasn't even thirsty, but that's what it does to me. They said would you like to try it with the sugar free syrup and I was disgusted they would even suggest such a thing...

I WOULD LIKE A TALL CINNAMON DOLCE LATTE WITH SUGAR....LOTS AND LOTS PLEASE!

I even carried on a conversation with the coffee barrista about how excited and thankful I was that they had it back. He told me they had boxes and boxes of it and I thought I might just have a seizure right there in line I was so happy!

So who wants to hold up Starbucks with me?

Sorry Dad.

So I ventured to the mall today and picked up some much needed accessories. I think accessories really make the outfit. I bought two necklaces, one pair of red hoops, and some head bands, ohh and a really cute wide black belt to go on the outside of this white button down shirt that I bought.

I've said it many many times, and I'll say it again- I hate going to the mall. Especially by myself. I left this morning to run errands for my wicked cool fiance, and go shopping and I just didn't feel like getting 'ready' I didn't look the part to go shopping. I had an old t-shirt with my college logo, and my MOST FAVORITE PAIR OF JEANS the ones with the holes in each knee. These jeans were not bought with holes, they have evolved into what are now my most favorite, comfy pair of jeans. If my dad were reading this he'd cringe.

Growing up if I had a shirt or jeans with a hole, even if it were a very small hole, somehow he'd manage to hook it with this finger and proceed to rip it as we walked by him. He always said that his girls would not walk out of the house with holes in their clothes-"You look like a rag doll" he would say.

Ironic?`

Last night I was really hungry so I made a frozen pizza and had some french fries.... ITS HORRIBLE, but I did it. Then I walked over to the magazines and picked up beauty and fitness, a bridal magazine. It didn't even occur to me what I was doing until I was flipping through the pages and found the 'diet' portion of the magazine.

I sometimes feel like I'm waiting for my motivation, even though I feel like that should have been...Hey fat ass, you're getting married!

I'm going shopping.

Little Black Dress

There are times in our lives when we'll wear little black dresses right? I recently bought a "little black dress" It is SO cute, its a satin type of material, with a v-neck, and drops down low in the back. I was going to wear it for new years, but chickened out. I'm always doing that, I feel like since I'm already a freakish six foot tall, why add heals and a "little black dress"? I think I'm going to take it right back to the mall and exchange it for some student teaching clothes....Growing up sucks.

Updates

So a new year has finally arrived. We brought it in with a bang. I won't go into details, I'll only tell you that Colby hugged a trashcan on the couch all night. :) Today is my last day to work this week, I have Wednesday-Friday off. During this time I'll be racking my brain trying to figure out where we'll get married...etc.

It would be so much easier if you could go online and look at all the different locations with all the different prices all lined up so you could compare. BLEH!

For my bridesmaids...we'll really need to get your sizes soon so I can have my lady start making your dresses...we really need to go shopping for fabric.

I got my student teaching calendar today... I start officially student teaching on the 17th of January. Exciting.

Christmas was fantastic, I got to enjoy two days with my family which was very nice. I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and a fantastic New Year!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY PARENTS! Their anniversary was new years eve.

Miss Moo

Ok, I had to put some of these on here because she is the most precious little thing I've ever seen! Here are a few pictures of Miss Moo:

Random me this, random me that...

Yesterday I went out into the Christmas rush. Yes, Its not a surprise to hear that I've just started my Christmas shopping. I do this every year. I can't help it, I feel so much like I'm chasing myself anyways that it's the norm for me. Next year I'm going to start Christmas shopping in July. That is one of my goals. I didn't really have any wants this year, I'm so excited for the wedding I just want that to be taken care of and planned.

I'm having a super hard time finding a church that will marry us since we do live together, and are not members of a church. That isn't because we don't want to become members, but I'm never able to go to church during the morning hours. Once I start teaching and Colby and I are half way settled we'll definitely join a church, but right now I think it would be wrong to join a church if we aren't able to attend. I called the park board today and its 250.00 to rent a park for a wedding and if it rains the lady basically told me that I'm Shit outta luck. I'm so STRESSED OUT! I want it to be planned for me. Ladies feel free to input on this I need it.

Things I have:

• Dress
• Reception Site
• Colby's Wedding Band
  

Things I don't have:

• Everything else.

Oy!

So i'm sitting here at the computer and have been since 10 o'clock... I've been listening to John Legend, and Michael Buble to name a couple to make time pass. I have ONE standards paper to pass, and i've been waiting to see if its passed or not ALL MORNING! I have to have it done by tomorrow morning at 8:30am! I'm tired and mad, i'm missing work for this crap.

Tis' the season

Tonight I found out that I passed my third standards paper. ONE MORE LEFT!!! I'm super excited. Tonight I've just been waiting to get those results so I've not really known what to do with myself, because I have nothing to do but WAIT! Next week I should find out if I passed the praxis exam or not.... Its up in the air, it was a really tough test.

In other news: It's that time of year again when the wal-mart customers are at their cheeriest. Today I had this lady looking for Moon Shoes, boots that you strap on and can bounce in-I always wanted a pair as a child..., I found a pair on the very top shelf. The shelf that says - Get an associate to help you. I started to get the box off the riser, and the lady shoved me out of the way and said, "I'm taller I'll get it." I looked at the lady in amazement because she was all of 5 foot 6 inches tall and here I am 6 foot and she's taller than me. People are so weird. So I moved out the way and watched her jump around until I stepped in and finished the job.

At last....

This day will be marked as the OFFICIAL last day of classes at Missouri State University! I cannot believe I have actually survived this! Today I passed standards paper number 2. I have two more to go and I'm DONE!

WOOOHOOO.... oh and I'm getting sick as well. So there won't be too much partying...not too much..

Vulnerability

I am extremely exhausted! I've had such a busy day today at school! Today we had "Showcase" it's where everyone has to present a piece of writing that they've been working on all semester. I decided that I would create a letter for my dad telling him how proud I am for how far he's come.

I sat down in front of tons of people and tried to explain why I wrote this letter, and that I wasn't going to write it all because I wouldn't get through the whole thing. As I sat there so vulnerable, I attempted to read just one paragraph. I didn't even get through that. I started getting a lump in my throat put my hand to my face, and when my voice started to squeak I knew the water works had been turned on. I had to stand up and quietly go to my seat. I've come a long way this semester.

Curse of the skinny jeans...

So tonight as I was doing laundry looking for my favorite pair of jeans, that I have yet to find, I opened my closet and there they were...not my favorite pair- my skinny jeans. Every morning when I open my closet I look up and there they are, nicely folded sitting on the top shelf. I say all this while I'm eating a bowl of honeycombs, but I want to burn those jeans! I've not been able to fit into those jeans for two summers now. So I take the jeans down out of the closet tonight and try both pairs on. It was ugly. I did manage to get them over the thighs, but It took an act of God to get out of them. I started to feel claustrophobic and thought I was going to have to call in reinforcements, but then I peeled them off and put on a much more comfortable pair of scrub pants. Afterwards I threw those jeans in the back of my closet, and came downstairs to put on Sex and the City season 4.

I've stopped drinking soda, which was a HUGE step for me now I think I've found the wedding dress, and I have motivation to work my ass into shape.

Snow Day

SNOW! Yes we finally have some crazy weather. Yesterday it was 70 degrees right now it's sitting at 20. We have tons of ice falling sticking, soon it will change to snow and we're expected to get 12 inches or more. I'm excited. This morning I woke up and ran downstairs to open the front door, it was SO cold! I love it! I got the guys up and we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I took my shower and decided I would bundle up and go to the store, it was a crazy thing to do, but I needed some oreos to go with my milk. Now I'm back home and warm sitting on the couch. I'm going to start doing some homework in a minute....bleh!

This really gets me in the Christmas spirit! I bought a brownie mix to make later on for dessert. Mmmmm I love the cold...but only when I can stay inside in my pajamas on the couch.

In Other News...

Today, I received an e-mail saying that I had passed my first standards paper! This is fantastic...three more papers to go and I've finished the semester! I've got three or four more things to do for this semester and I'm done......DONE! No more MSU campus for me. Student teaching here I come! I'm ready.


In other news. I miss my wicked cool fiance, Colb. COME HOME!

Isn't it funny how when you're young it was always about the food?

I hope everyone had a fantastic Turkey Day! I had the best Thanksgiving ever! Lets recap the events from last year shall we?

Last year at this time, I was the saddest girl you'd have ever known. My dad was in a hospital fighting a crippling case of depression. I say crippling because that's how it felt to me. Not being able to do something more for people you love is the worst pain of all. We sat in that hospital on Thanksgiving day and talked with him, I cried...Mom and Uncle Daddy talked to him. We went into the music room...something that was supposed to help my dad, he brought his guitar to pass the time. I remember very very clearly hearing the nurse tell all of the patients that David had brought his guitar to play for everyone. In a sterile room I sat and watched my dad play with my Uncle Daddy a bluegrass melody. I felt like I was suffocating. I wanted to drag him out of there and knock some sense in him. WHY was he playing for all these patients, why wasn't he home? Why was he acting like them? That's not my dad he's too strong for this. It was a heavy heart day. There are no ways to describe the hurt I felt that day.

Jump forward to this year:


I went home and enjoyed a fantastic meal with my Mims, and Dad. Stori and Kyle and Moo was there, as well as my Granny Carol, and a few other family members. I did think of Uncle Daddy and Gran, it was the first Thanksgiving we'd spent without Uncle Daddy, and the second without Gran. Not one single day goes by that they're not running through my mind. Still today was one of the happiest Thanksgiving's in a long time. We all had each other, and I danced in the sun room with my mom. It's a great day for thanks, and everyday I'm thanking God.

Dear Readers,

I feel like I'm never able to do this anymore. It bums me out because, I'm still able to get online and see all of the blogs that I enjoy reading on a daily basis. School has been so crazy and I'm just counting the days until I'm able to just to breathe. This is all the time I have I'm getting ready for ANOTHER class.

XOXO
Char-Marie

Life.

Well, I'm officially 23! I've actually made it to my twenty third birthday, not that I wasn't expecting to, its always nice to make it one more year. Some people think of getting old as such a sad thing. "Oh no! One more year has passed and I'm not where I feel like I should be in life.." There is only one way to fix that. Do something! I find every birthday better than the last. This has been my most favorite birthday yet!

Not because of gifts, but because of where I am in life. I never knew what would happen year after year, I knew what I wanted to happen. I do not think we're floating aimlessly in life, you have to help to guide yourself. This year I feel like a grown up...sorta. I say sorta because I'm still a child at heart. I definitely giggle at the wrong times, and I am known to be immature on a few occasions.

Anyways, this year I feel like I'm a grown up. I'm working with small children who pretty much think I'm it. I mean every single day I have a small child walking up to me telling me that I'm going to make a great teacher, and that they love me. That means more to me than some adult walking up to me saying you're doing good. I am a teacher at Wonders of Wildlife, and even though I thought I might puke when the bird hocked something up, I kept my composure and BS'd my way through it. I'm very close to finishing this semester and coming up on my last semester of student teaching. I'm also planning a wedding, and I'll have to admit it makes me want to throw up. It is very stressful, and even though I've been thinking about this day since I can remember it doesn't come close to actually sitting down and crunching numbers.

I feel very alive right now. I am the happiest I have ever been. I'm 23.

OOOoooo Ahhhhh

Isn't it beautiful?

Engaged

This is a day I will remember for the rest of my life! Today I woke up just like every other normal day and went to work. I'm sick and barely have a voice, I come home and the apartment is SO clean, Colby and Jacob cleaned from a little get together we had this weekend. Colby told me that I had 30 minutes to get ready because we're going to go eat at a little Italian restaurant that we love.
I remembered a funny story and I was trying to explain it using Colby's hands and he accidentally hit me in the eye.. It'll probably be a little bruised in the morning.. Anyways, my eyes start watering and I go and get dressed to eat dinner.

The whole time during the meal its like any other time we've gone to eat dinner together: talking, laughing, me spilling things- the usual. On the car ride home we turn down a different road, and I asked him where we were going. He told me that he really didn't want to start on his paper that he had to get done tonight, and I said, "Oh, so we're procrastinating are we?" He said that it wasn't procrastinating that he wanted to spend more time with me. So we started talking about getting married and how there was this little park we had in mind. We drove around the park three times, and then pulled into a little rose garden that was across the street from it. He told me that he wanted to pick a rose for me, but that I needed to stay in the car because I was sick. I sat in the car laughing at him, because roses shouldn't be on the vine this time of year. He looks and looks and looks, and I'm still laughing. He comes back to the car, and hands me this tiny red bud and I grabbed it and was like, "Wow, how did you find this? That's so odd." while I was examining the rose bud, Colby drops to his knee... keep in mind that I'm still in my seat belt- I look over really quick because I thought he fell down...

Then he proposed. I have the most beautiful vintage engagement ring ever. It was hand made 80 years ago....It screams my name- my wicked cool fiance did a fantastic job.

WoW School

Today was a big day for me. I woke up really early took my shower and threw on my Wonders of Wildlife polo shirt. I taught two classes today- all on my own. It was really exciting. For the most part most of the students listened really well, but my second class was by far the best class out of the two. During the first class when I was talking about the falcon that was on my arm he started making this weird hacking sound and out came a really nasty green ball of shit. Well it wasn't really shit, it was bones and fur- but it was disgusting and even I caught myself being like the kids saying, "ewww! What is that?" I had no problems with the snake, however, during the second program I reached in the bag to get him and I guess my nail poked him because he jumped and then I jumped. I thought he was for sure going to bite me. He didn't though, I lived to tell about it.

Somehow during the first class we got off on the subject of king cobras instead of king snakes. One little boy piped up and asked me, "Do king cobras have red eyes?" I got another question like, " What happens when a king snake meets a queen snake?"

Aww...

Love

Tonight Colby and I took out Stori, Kyle and Miss Magpie out to eat at TGIF. It was to be our last dinner together for a very long time. Stori and Kyle are moving to Fort Campbell, KY on this upcoming Friday. I was holding back tears all through dinner because I'm going to miss my sister, and Miss Magpie very very much. I'll miss Kyle too, and I'll pray everyday that he is safe. This is the very first time my sister and I will be separated. When we were younger we fought about everything, I would fight with her about the color of her hair if she'd allow it- she usually did. Since this past year we've both done a lot of growing up, my sister had a gorgeous baby girl, who happens to pee all over everything, and I am finishing up my last semester at school.

So I just wanted to say - Stori, you've really became one of my best friends and I'm so glad for that because we've seen how siblings can act, and I never want to end up like that. So here's to always looking out for each other no matter what anyone else had to say! I love you, and I'll always be here no matter what.

I have a few pictures of Miss Mag from last week when she stayed with me. I'll miss her soo much!

One Chicken Achee-nee Please.

So right now my world revolves around 20 Kindergartners that think I'm quite possibly the coolest think since sliced bread. Well, I do look like a mermaid and all. So what do I do when all of a sudden I'm blindsided by three kindergartners who are bound and determined to kiss me? This morning I was sitting down watching them sing their alphabet songs, and all of a sudden I'm tackled by three girls and kissed. Then one yells out, "HEY EVERYONE, I kissed Ms. _____." After that I was blown kisses all day. I am so exhausted. Today I was walking behind the line coming back from lunch and I feel like all I'm doing is saying, "HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK, BUBBLES IN YOUR MOUTHS!" They walk down the hallways like little monkeys!

Yesterday-

I got to play with them during center time, and I sat down at a table and ordered something from one of the students, and all of a sudden a hush fell over the crowd of germ infested children. Like, Is she really going to play with us? They were all so confused. I ordered Fettuccine with chicken, garlic bread with cheese, and an ice tea. The little girl looked at me and said, "Umm, we don't have achee-nee, we do have unsketi and a meatball though." I agreed to have 'unsketi and a meatball.

Week 2 still going strong.

I thought to myself How ironic for us to be doing a lesson on Germs. I have a few hanging out in my chest. Nice. I've been sick now for 2 weeks. Granted it's not near as bad as it has been, but I still have to blow my nose every 10 minutes and my chest feel like I have someone sitting on it all day. I've been trying to kick this now for a bit, and today when I had recess duty it was 40 degrees and it started raining- I'm sure that helped. I'm so tired, but (for your information Mims) I have been taking my flinstone vitamins every morning.

Sick.

Last Tuesday I stared working at a school near Springfield, and let me be the first to say that kids are GERM MAGNETS! I'm so sick. I've been sick for 4 days! Nothing is helping me, I've done Dayquil, Nyquil, Chloritabs, Actifed, Chloreseptic spray....I've taken them separately, together, and NOTHING works. *Warning: do not Drink chloreseptic spray from the bottle. I didn't think it would be a big deal until half the bottle was gone and I was walking around tipsy at work.

My nose hurts so bad, every 5 minutes I'm blowing it and its raw. I sound like I've been a smoker all of my life. Not the sexy raspy, the raspy where people say "Sir" when you get a phone call- assholes. When I cough my chest burns. Ehh. I'm whining, I know, but I know there's at least one person out there who can relate.

The second day of working at this school I brought home a painting from one of the kindergartners. The picture is of me, I have to tell you- it looks just like me. I'm a mermaid for starters, and I have fire red hair, purple sea shells, and a head band. I'm moving up in the world.

This is for you Mim.

So tonight I came home to an empty apartment. Colby, Corey, and Jake were surprising Mary Beth for her birthday. On the way home I called my mims, because that's what I do, and she convinced me to go to the grocery store and buy some food before I came home that way I didn't have to get out after dark. My family worries about me, and I've gotta say sometimes I worry about myself.

One night when I was home a large man tried to get into the apartment, I grabbed my trusty hammer and ran upstairs to sit on my bed. Eventually I fell asleep with the hammer in my hand....that's a story for a different time. I digress.

So I went to the grocery store and found all these great things I HAD to have, paid for them and lugged my goods into the dark, empty, lonely, cold....are you getting it....apartment. I cleaned the fridge and *yes mom* took the trash out AFTER dark! I know you're clutching your chest right now...its OK mom... Only two guys hollered at me, breathe easy.

After I made a delightful frozen dinner *healthy choice* I sat down on the couch to watch Monday night t.v which is very weird because I never watch t.v anymore. I sat there and flipped the channels for about 30 seconds before I realized I only have 5 channels- it wasn't just the same show on every channel. I got bored and decided to do some laundry, but soon decided I didn't like that either....Now I'm belting out my favorite tunes in my raspy *sick person* voice.

I'm tired, I'm cold, I'm sick, and I want my mom!

PG-13

Man, school is really kicking my butt. Yesterday I got off work at 5 p.m and fell asleep shortly after on the floor of the living room. I woke up 2 1/2 hours later to Colby telling me we had to go pick up his friends computer. I pulled myself off the floor with the help of a lazy boy recliner and headed up the bathroom, when I looked in the mirror I threw my hands up in the air,

"Colb, I can't come with you!"
"Why not?"
"Well...."

I walk out of the bathroom. Laughter ensues.

"I fell asleep on your jacket and I have a permanent imprint of the zipper down the right side of my face! Not only that, but It looks like I've got a button on the left side of my jaw."

"Oh Char-Marie, he won't care if you look that way."
"Well, I do care. I look like got in a fight with a Ginsu!"

So we travel across Springfield, and we step into this guys apartment. I am trying my best to keep my head cocked to the left so my hair falls over the zipper gash in my face. Then Colby introduces me.... "Hey, Nice to meet you. Disregard the crease in my face. I fell asleep on Colby's zipper." (I fell asleep on Colby's zipper? Uhh... you didn't just say that!)


Sometimes I feel like I need someone to screen my mouth...blah blah blah!

Another quick glimpse....

So I have a few minutes time to talk about myself for a bit. ;) This week has been hectic and its only the first day of classes this week. For starters I've already had a big assignment I turned in for today. I got a B on my paper from last week. I worked on it for about ehh...30 minutes, I was rushing because I have 20 more papers due. I guess I can't complain too much about a B.

I got my schedule for Wonders of Wildlife, I'll be teaching starting in 2 weeks. This Friday I have a quiz over my animals. I took a picture with Elvis, for the most part people don't really like it. The snake is really close to my face, and my sister's reaction was, "You're Effing Crazy!" The consensus has been a scrunched up face with a dropped open mouth. I feel awesome for actually caring around a king snake while I go through my daily routine. (It's not like I'm brushing my teeth with him.)

Thursday I am babysitting Moo overnight. That should be fun, the last time I babysat Moo I slept in baby pee all night. Hopefully she's straightened up her act and asks if she can go to the potty this time. I'll have her all day Friday and we're going to Barnes and Noble around 11:30ish....Come by and see us, we'll be there for a few hours. I'm always nervous about watching her, and lately she's been a real grump.....I might take her to the mall and put her on parade. --Hey Stori, she'll be great friends with Elvis, maybe she'll bring him home for show and tell.

In other news: This weekend we had a great time! Mary Beth came to see us for the weekend and we went and saw Jackass 2.....If you haven't seen it, PLEASE DO! It's way better than the first one. After we went to Jackass 2 we went bowling. We all had drinks, I had red beer (my dad got me started on it.) I actually won the first game with a 118! Which is freaking awesome for me considering I actually bowled an 11 once- With bumpers! The second game I lost horribly.....ehh

Wrapping up the week.

So today I went to Wonders of Wildlife and walked around with Elvis- the California king snake. I'm not as afraid of him as I had been. I think he's vibing with me now. Although today he did wrap himself around my arm again and I'm just really not OK with that.

Today I went home and watched the Mag Pie. She is getting so big, I'm afraid she may have inherited my booty. Poor baby.

Since I never get to sit down and write in this I'm just summarizing my week. I had my third check point on my huge unit plan. The teacher seemed to love it. I'm not sure if she liked it because it was really good, or because her family was in town and she was saying anything to get away from us. Either way I left feeling pretty damn good. And those of you who know about the "unit plan" know why.

Mary Beth is going to be in town tomorrow, so tonight we've cleaned and cleaned. I don't know about you all, but I feel so less stressed and more clear when everything is in order and not so cluttered. Now if only I could tackle my car....

Katie, when you get into town call me! Maybe if there's some miracle we could go get a drink or something. Linz, this goes for you as well. We can drink sparkling cider. ;)

Yesterday I felt really really sick, I think I'm just getting to the point where my body just wants to give out. I'm so tired all the time, I don't eat the way I should because I'm never anywhere to fix something good. I need a vacation.

wiggle while you work

So, I have 5 minutes before class starts and I had a quick second to sit down and write. I honestly feel like I have my head in the game as far as school goes. I love my Wonders of Wildlife internship....Although on Friday I had to hold "Elvis" the California King Snake. California definitely knows how to grow snakes.

Elvis and I are not considered "friends" I'm not fond of him, and I'm pretty sure he's not very fond of me. The whole reason I had to hold Elvis is because Arthur was shedding and he would bite me. So I get handed Elvis and my heart jumps into my throat because the whole time I've got him his tongue was flicking on my thumb and I just turned my head so I couldn't see him. I'd rather just feel the pain from him biting me than see the strike.

He was WAY TOO squirmy! Then he wrapped himself so tight around my left arm I thought I was going to pass out on the tile floor while he tried to eat my arm.

Any who.....I just had a little time to sit and chat.

Someone Once Told Me, "Life is Good."

Is it odd that I'm sitting in a sweater, wearing a sweatshirt, and sipping butterfinger hot chocolate that my gran got me, and alternating that with cranberry juice--- while listening to Christmas music. I'm in the spirit. I'm so ready for that time of year, because that means the school stuff I'm dealing with is about over, AND the fact that it's my very favorite time of the season helps a lot!

This year I'm truly hoping for a miracle. I want everyone who reads this post to say a little prayer for my dad, who's having a little difficulty dealing with some things. He is really falling back down into the depression, and with everything I have I want him to be better. I want him to love life, and the people who are in it. Throughout a lot my parents have been my rock, and I'm desperately trying to be his. I just need to know the way. I know one way or another I'll find it, and bring him back to where he needs to be, my dad once said the reason he was gifted with Stori and I were because we were going to do something great, and I believe him. My greatness will come when my dad is better and back to loving life.......because, isn't that what it's all about?

Running On Sugar Water, And The Possibility That I Might Really Make It Some Day.

So today I had my second checkpoint for the HUGE project I've been working on. My partner and I sat down to talk about what we had done with the teacher, and she absolutely tore it apart. I sat there listening to her rant and rave about how we didn't do anything and why weren't we doing this and this looks like a third grader done it.

Sometimes I wish I had never stepped foot into the education department. The stress is insane, and I feel like I'm treated like a first grader- at times. I wanted to scream and tell her that there aren't enough hours in the day to make this assignment "Perfect" instead I just let my eyes well up and started trying to hold back tears. She asked me if I had a job, and I barely got out-"Yes, I have two jobs." She looked at me and said, "I have a new found respect for you, you can go now."

I feel like all my time is devoted to this and I feel so strongly for the career I have chosen to take on, at times it is overwhelming, but eventually it will all be worth it.... It has to be.

Zonked.

I feel like I'm working 24-7 and I'm FREAKING BROKE! Uhh it's awful. I just wonder sometimes where it goes, because I never do anything, but drive back and forth....ohh yeah I drive! I'm living in my car. I'm so glad that it's dependable (knock on wood!)

My days are running together. It's all I can do to wake up in the morning and put a jump in my step. I am a walking zombie. I could literally sleep standing up, and have on a few occasions. The other night I had a moment of free time and Corey, Jake, and I were watching lost and Corey looked over at me- (Apparently I was starting off into space with this horrible look on my face) He asked if I was alright, and I blurted out something about the constitution. You see, I'm working on a 6 week unit plan teaching the constitution and Missouri Gov't to fourth graders and it's all I can think about.


If you're reading this and remember ANYTHING about how you were taught the constitution/gov't *a fun way* PLEASE- an ideas will help.

Just Another Day in the Life of Miss Marie

Every Friday morning I'm so excited to get out of bed and go to Wonders of Wildlife and see whats in store. This is how I want my career to be... I picked something I'd do for free, but I'll be getting paid for it so it will seem like I've never worked a day in my life.... Right? I hope that's how I feel once I start teaching. I'm so excited about teaching the second grade students about the life cycle at Wonders of Wildlife. I'll be teaching all by myself! Kinda scary, I'm learning all kinds of cool animal facts, and this morning I spent most of my time with Arthur the speckled king snake. He seems to be pretty well mannered. As long as he doesn't bite me we'll be friends.

Today I worked on crating the animals, and learned how to crate Arthur. This was kinda scary for me, because I have to put him in a pillow case, tie a knot in it, set it down inside an insulated lunch box, and when it's time for me to take him back out I have to unwrap the pillow case and stick my hand into a bag and pull him out! I'm really really nervous about doing this in front of a lot of second graders.....if he bites me I'm dropping him and running- Good luck to all the second graders..huh.

Such is life.

Oy! Thursdays are such long days for me! I'm at school from 8 in the morning to almost 7 in the evening, it's such a long time to be roaming around campus with an eighty pound bag on your back. Cheap Date Night Thursdays are no longer existent, I rarely see Colby- only in passing usually. Even when we're both home we have different things to do and he's usually in the basement working on homework, and I'm upstairs doing the same thing. I hate it. It really just bums me out, I have absolutely no free time, and the tiny bit I have isn't when he does....I guess that's life. I guess I can stick this out for one more semester. Until then, I probably won't post as much, I don't think the teachers believe in having jobs and paying for college. The professors pile on as much homework as they possibly can to take away every ounce of your time.

No pearls for me.

Tonight I was thinking about something that I stumbled across this weekend while in a shop with lots of different nautical stuff. I was shopping around picking up all the different shells, looking at the different jewelry, and pearls... Then I saw a tank with clams in it. On the tank there was a sign that read: -Pick your pearl! $15.99.- I watched as a woman said, "I'd like that one." The person behind the counter grabbed the clam, and pried it open with a knife and then in one small sweeping motion with her hand, pulled out a small pearl. When she had the pearl, she discarded the clam into a large trash bin.

I was really thinking about this, I know it's odd, but bear with me. I'm writing for my Communications Art class, and decided I'd write about the pearl and the clam. It was very sad to watch as the clam struggled to stay shut, and guard its treasure. A clam holds a tiny grain of sand, it holds it for so long that eventually it becomes something beautiful. In one sweeping motion it is all taken away. It made me think of how things that we shelter could be taken away, or even the things that shelter us. Am I making any sense, I'm really tired, and it's late....

Yeah....I did it.....So

So I landed an internship at Wonders of Wildlife! I heard about it through one of my teachers and thought that I might try to see if I could get it. I went in for an interview and was thrown questions by three people, and I guess my answers were pretty good because I'm an intern!

Job Description:

I'll be a teacher in the Wonders of Wildlife classrooms teaching about life cycles...etc. Some of the things that I've been doing is animal handling. I'm required to be able to hold the animals, crate them, and bring them into the classrooms.

These animals include:

1. Frogs/Toads: American, Marine, and Bullfrog.
2. Salamanders: Tiger
3. African Millipede
4. Pink Toed Tarantula .....EWWW and he's really hairy!
5. Hissing Cockroaches
6. Turtles: African and Box/water
7. Iguana named Chevy
8. Bearded Dragons: Sydney, and Melbourne
9. Snakes: Speckled King Snake, Rat Snake, Corn Snake, and some more king snakes.
10. Angora Rabbit: Fitzgerald
11. Kestrels: Orion, and Buttercup
12. Hedgehogs
13. Birds: Turkey Vulture (Socrates), Screech Owl (Caesar), Hawk (Hawk Eye), Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl (Owlbert Einstein)
14. Ferret (Fannie)
15. Possum (Frannie)

And others I cannot think of at the moment.

I'm really really excited about this it gives me a great opportunity to teach in a classroom by myself. :)

Ohh and Did I mention I held a few of these including: Buttercup the Kestrel, Melbourne the Bearded Dragon, Toads, Bullfrog, and


Arthur: The Speckled King Snake!

The Not So Itsy Bitsy Spider....

I almost dislocated my shoulder trying to get away from a spider tonight. I was working on my resume and out of the corner of my eye I see the arm of the couch moving, but as I straighten my spectacles I realize that it's not the couch, its a freaking HUGE spider. Ladies and Gentlemen this spider had to be the size of a quarter....well..thats big to me, and it was headed right for my arm. I let out a scream that probably woke the neighbors and Colby jumped up, "What's wrong, What's Wrong....?!"

"Ahhh....GET IT, it's huge....SHIT, shit shit shit....."
"Ohh Honey, that's not huge, it's a baby!"
"GET IT, GEEEEEEEEETTTT ITTTTT! HURRY IT'S Moving! *insert panicked scream here* HURRY it's trying to hide!"

In walks my superhero boyfriend, 'Colby the Right Hand of Justice', and annihilates the evil 8 legged creep with one crash of..... the box that held our called in dinner.

Like you didn't know...

And so it was said
that on the grand and glorious
eighth and extra day,
God did indeed create beer
to keep the Irish from conquering the world.

MISS MOO

This is Miss Moo at 3 weeks old. PRECIOUS! This little girl has really gained the weight. I love the bottom picture it looks like she's posing!!! Awwww.......I couldn't believe they had bikinis to fit her!

White Noise

Ok, I know I've talked about it in the past, but who here believes in ghosts? Who here believes in people trying to make contact with them? Raise your hand. A couple days ago I had a dream about my Uncle Daddy....I couldn't understand what he was trying to tell me, I could see him plain as day, but it sounded like we were under water.

Tonight my parents came over and informed me that my Aunt Beth had a missed call on her caller I.D from my Uncle Daddy. For those of you who know me personally, you'll understand why this baffles me.

Any thoughts?

Somebody is definitely watching over us....

La Hacienda

A rundown of all the things that have been going on since I've posted last. First things first , the new town house is really cool. We live very close to campus, and that's fantastic for days that you don't wake up in time to wash your hair. Everything is moved in and in working order, we can wash our clothes in our washer and dry our clothes in our dryer....who would have thought?!
A firecracker just went off in our front yard....at least that's what I'm calling it, I'm praying it's not a gun. People are soo festive here!

Today in Springfield, it rained really really hard and we've also discovered that the basement is not only a basement, it doubles as a swimming pool! See, I told you....it's so affordable. Yes folks, we are living the good life. Ahh....College Life!!


Moo is doing absolutely fantastic! She's gained a lot of weight and has a double chin....*everyone all together now...Ahhhh!!!!!

I was like, "AHH TURN HER OFF!!"

Wednesday night I had Miss Mag............ Overnight. She is the most beautiful baby I've ever seen, but one dirty diaper later I was saying, "You're too pretty for this! What happened?" At one point in the night I was changing her diaper and I look away for a second to grab a wipe and turn back around and It looks like Mag has installed a sprinkler system!

"Ahh COlby HElp!"

"What do you want me to do?!"

" I don't know, TURN HER OFF!"

So then we proceeded to change her outfit, and clean up the piddle that was now on our new carpet...*I love you Mag* Then we went for round two.

After our excitement little Mag was worn out, so she went fast to sleep. I slept on the pull our bed, with Mags next to me....Securely next to me. Every time she would Coo I'd be looking at her to make sure everything was ok. See its not just the crying that keeps you awake it's knowing that you have a tiny baby you're taking care of, so for the next eighteen + years of your life you'll never have a restful night cause you'll always be worrying. That's why I'm going to have puppies instead.

Around 1:45 she started to figet and I picked her up and gave her a bottle, then I decided to change her diaper, she whizzed all over everything again. So now it's 3:30, I've changed her outfit again, and I'm lying on a wet sheet- Wondering if I'll tell anyone about this.....You knew I would.

Mag is currently on her way to Ft. Benning, GA to see her daddy for the first time, I'm so happy for Stori and Miss Mag. It's family day in boot camp! Yeehaw.

Cheap Date Night Thursday

Well last night we went on our cheap date night. We really didn't have any crazy things happen like most cheap date nights, but it was a fantastic cheap date night. First we went to J Parinos a small Italian restaurant here in Springfield. The food was excellent, we had shirmp florentine with flash fried spinach to start off with. Colby had chicken marsala, and I had tilapia in a white wine lemon sauce. Mmm soo good.

We got to sit and chat just a little bit, then decided to go to Barnes and Noble to look at some books. While at Barnes and Noble we had some starbucks..A grande coffee for Colb, and a Vanilla Bean Frap for me. I bought: The Cement Garden by Ian Mcewan, it sounds to me like a very good book, I'm going to get that read before school starts on Tuesday. Oh and I also bought Women's Health magazine, I'm really serious when I say that this year I'm toning these thighs.



Oh yeah, and might I add that it wasn't really cheap date night, because it wasn't cheap. Colby took me to a fantastic dinner. I love my boyfriend, he's wicked cool.

Still Here..

Just a quick post to say i'm still alive. I've been so busy, we just moved and I love love love our new town house. NEW CARPET! Such a huge deal. Miss Mag Pie is absolutely the most beautiful little lady i've ever seen. She's gorgeous. I have tons of pictures and once I have access to them i'll be posting like crazy. She's a rockstar.

Yes or No? I found a little black shirt that says: My Mom Puts Out... I love it!

Couldn't you just eat her up?

Ahh its good to be a baby
Originally uploaded by Char-Marie.

Look at those lips! She is the most precious thing i've ever seen. The birth was amazing! She is very good natured...so far. She never cries, just looks around to see what's going on. She snorts too, which is adorable.

Ohhh man I love that little girl!

Look who graced us with her presence..

Lil Miss Mag Pie
Originally uploaded by Char-Marie.

Holy Crap! It has been a crazy two days. Last night at 6:00 pm Stori and I went into the hospital thinking that she was only going to have her cervix thinned. Little did we know...

Stori was supposed to get induced this morning around 6:00, but this morning around 5:00 she was dialated all the way to 10. This morning at 7:12 we had a little baby girl.

Maggie Marie * 7lbs 9oz * 20.5 inches long. She is absolutely gorgeous!


I'm an Auntie!!!

Cheap Date Night Friday

I'm aware that it is indeed Monday, but I've been busy. Cheap date night-Friday went pretty well. Colby and I hit up some more book stores in Springfield. I bought: House on Pooh Corner, Huckleberry Finn, Stellaluna, and Trump. We went to the 5.50 bin at walmart and bought the movie Basic, which is pretty good. We also took a walk around a park that we have considered getting married at next summer. Its a very pretty park with a rose garden attached. All in all a pretty perfect end to a pretty perfect cheap date night.

Oh yeah and we went to this one book store named: Book Jungle. It was SCARY. It had no windows, we walked in and there was a man sitting to our left and he spoke very very softly. Creepy. So we go into the "book jungle" Actually it was named rather well, because it was a freaking maze. It was very hard to get through on the itsy bitsy path. I felt like the farther I walked in- the farther I got away from freedom- and the closer I was to having some sort of bars slide down behind me locking me in. I was scared, but I managed to find the children's books, and Colby came around the corner and I started laughing....A nervous, I'm scared of the creepy soft spoken guy in the corner, can we go now - laugh.

Me: "heheheee?"
Colby: "Shhhh...he might kill us."
Me: " I know I'm getting that vibe too!"
Colby: "Let's go."
Me: "BUT look how freaking cheap these books are!!!"
Colby: "Sir, do you take debit cards?"

Creepy Side Show Guy: "No cash only please, or I'll be forced to grind your bones."
Colby: "Char-Marie he only takes caaassssh."
Me: "Are you Effing kidding? Look at all these books I have!" *they were stacked to my knees.*
Colby: "Aww well, some other time, let's go."
ME: "Ok.....But..."
Colby: "Let's go!"

I have a feeling that we'll never go back.

The Art of Pill Popping

I've always been a pansy when it comes to taking any sort of pill. Big pills, small pills, in between pills. Once when I was highly medicated, due to surgery, my mom came into my room with some ibuprofen. She handed me a smoothie and told me to take these pills. I proceeded to put the pills in my mouth and begin to chew. Now mind you that I was so drunk on meds to begin with that I didn't listen when she said "DON'T CHEW EM'!" Needless to say it was a horrible experience and I still remember it like it was yesterday.

Now I can't even take very very tiny pills. Here is what I recommend to help ease the pain. I walk into the kitchen grab the big bottle of apple sauce that Colby and I keep on hand and stand at the sink with it like it's a bottle of rum. I tip up the apple sauce jar and throw in the pill-one at a time is always the best route- Then normally I can't even tell I've swallowed a pill.

But...

Occasionally it back fires and I'm left in the kitchen with the apple sauce jar coughing and pounding my chest because the tiny pill, the itty bitty little thing has gotten lodged in my throat... Sometimes you never win.

Mag Pie

Another thing- Baby Maggie is scheduled to be born on next Wednesday, August 2nd.!!!! HOLY CRAP! I'm going to be an auntie very very soon!

Here's her sweet little photo. She looks just like ME! Look at those cheeks, don't you just wanna bite em'?

Thursday

Today is usually cheap date night, and I'm sorry to inform you that today will be look for a job day instead. Cheap date night has been set back until tomorrow, and it's my turn to pick what we're doing....So A little help would be awesome, cause all I can think about is finding another job!

The very hard part about finding another job is the fact that my school schedule was already made out for me with no way to change it because this semester is my last semester for classes and its block scheduling so basically the middle of the week is impossible to deal with!

Well Everything's Starting Off Ok.

Well this morning started off me stumbling out of bed, walking to the kitchen for my frosted flakes that I have EVERY morning before work. I took a big bite of frosted flakes with sour milk. Ehh. The milk said July 29th....someone lied, I'm going to find them.

Se Habla Espaniol.

Well, after careful consideration Colby and I have took a turn for places to consider for Peace Corps. We are really hoping for Latin America now. First of all you have the rain forest....That would be amazing. *I'll need lots of care packages of bug spray. The kind for really really big bugs.* Another thing to consider is Spanish. I've had 3 years of Spanish in high school, but if you don't use it you lose it. All I can really remember are all the "bad words". I'm sure some day those will come in handy. There is a guy that I work with named, Jorge, and every day I tell him to speak Spanish with me. I need to brush up.

I was in a used book store on Thursday and saw a program to learn Spanish in three months....I took Spanish for three years, and they're going to teach me to be fluent in three months? Coincidentally that's all the time you have to train for the Peace Corps as well.

A list of all the possibilities:

• Belize
  
• Bolivia
• Costa Rica
  
• Equador
• El Salvador
• Guatemala
• Guyana
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Paraguay
• Peru
• Suriname
  
• 
  

LOVE IT

I found this surfing this blog:

Irish girls are unique in their character.
They're a combination of a girl, a mother, a hooker and a nun.
They go from Bambi to Banshee in 3.7 seconds.
They can bat their eyes or blacken yours.
They can love you with a passion and make you feel like a king.
Depending on their mood, they'll chastise you for drinking, or match you pint for pint.
They keep men from killin' themselves and each other.
Incomprehensible but indispensible, those Irish girls.

Friday Installment of Cheap Date Night Thursdays

Colby and I had about our 7th cheap date night since we decided to start having it. This time it was Colby's turn to take me on cheap date night. We went to Captain D's, which is great! I haven't been to a Captain D's in a long while. For some reason it is packed with older people all the time--but we had a great time. I had chicken and fish, Colby decided on shrimp and crab cakes...Mmm. I spilt ketchup all over me because I thought I could carry 7 of those cups filled with different condiments. I love getting those cups, but I think we went a little overboard.

After our fantastic cuisine we traveled to the $2.50 movies. This particular movie theater plays the movies after they've had the 15 minutes of fame. We picked out our movie and had time to go to a used book store across town, I bought: Charlotte's Web, and Bridge to Terabithia- Both fantastic children's books. Colby bought Life's Greatest faces or something to that nature- It was only 1.00. Then after shopping the bookstore for about 40 minutes we traveled back across town to our movie: Mission Impossible 3...Good in my opinion. After the movie we came back to the apartment where I enjoyed some Tin Roof Sundae.....I love that ice cream.

Dinner: $14.00
Movie: $ 5.00
Books: $ 1.00
________
$ 20.00

Seeing the look on Colby's face when I said I was hungry again: Priceless